Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards debate their England starting XI for Euro 2024 with the trio disagreeing on THREE positions… while one pundit picks both Phil Foden AND Jack Grealish in his line-up

• Pundits debated who would be in their England squad for Euro 2024 next year 
• Gary Lineker agreed on defence with Richards, who named wildcard in midfield 
• Trent and Bellingham can play together but can’t get in each other’s way – IAKO 

Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have debated who would get in their England starting XIs at Euro 2024 – with the trio differing on three positions.

England are looking ahead to next year’s tournament after the international break saw them beat Malta 2-0 before a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia – helping them securing top seeding at next year’s tournament. 

The draw for Euro 2024 will take place on December 2 and the Three Lions will avoid top teams like Germany, Portugal, France, Spain and Belgium after being placed in pot one.

And with anticipation building for the competition, pundits Lineker, Shearer and Richards named their starting XIs as things stand on their podcast The Rest is Football. 

Lineker kicked off the discussion by naming a line-up of Pickford in goal, a backline of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Kieran Trippier – with Jude Bellingham alongside Declan Rice in midfield and James Maddison just ahead of them.

Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards all debated their England squads for Euro 2024

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He then picked Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane and Phil Foden in attack. 

‘And then within that, you can bring people on, lots of replacements for those,’  the Match of the Day host added.

Shearer went next, agreeing on Pickford and the same backline – though he opted for Harry Maguire over Guehi. Like Lineker, Rice and Bellingham were automatic selections in his midfield too – but he named both Grealish and Foden in his team instead of Maddison – with Saka and Kane the other names leading the line. 

Grealish and Foden – both Man City team-mates – are expected to compete for the left-wing role, with Saka looking the favourite to take the right winger spot. 

‘Very close,’ Lineker said. ‘Not mine [but] only a couple of differences. That’s good and I wouldn’t argue with that either.’

All pundits agreed on Harry Kane (L) and Bukayo Saka – but Richards named Trent Alexander-Arnold (C) in this midfield

It then fell to Richards to name his starting XI – as he named the same keeper and backline as Lineker – but not before the two other pundits laughed at him for his pronounciation of Marc Guehi. 

‘Ger-hi? Who’s Ger-hi?’ Lineker asked, with Richards bursting into laughter. 

The former Man City star also agreed on Rice and Bellingham in midfield – but said he would play Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold alongside them. 

The right-back has been deployed in midfield a number of times this season and started in the position in both games against Malta and North Macedonia over the international break. 

Declan Rice (L) was picked by all three – but Alan Shearer opted to have both Jack Grealish (C) and Phil Foden in his side – despite both vying for the left wing role

Richards then plumped for Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka in attack before hinting he would deploy Jack Grealish on the wing.

Despite avoiding some big teams by being placed in pot one for the Euro 2024 draw, England could still face a ‘Group of Death’ situation in Germany.

Italy have dropped into pot four, meaning the highest-seeded teams – including England – could face a potential ‘Group of Death’ involving the Netherlands, who are in pot three, and Italy.

Pot two currently consists of Hungary, Denmark and Albania, who won their respective qualifying groups, as well as Austria who finished just one point behind Belgium.

They will be joined by Turkey and Romania.

England boss Gareth Southgate face a tough decision over selection in Germany next year 

England could face Scotland in a rematch from Euro 2020, with Steve Clarke’s side in pot three alongside Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

The Three Lions could also be drawn against Romania, Slovenia and Switzerland, which on paper would be among the easiest draws possible for Southgate’s men.

Nations who have qualified for the play-offs include Georgia, Greece, Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Israel, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia and Wales.

Some of those nations qualified for the play-offs thanks to their Nations League campaigns, with Estonia making the cut despite only taking one point from eight games in their Euro 2024 qualifying group.

They will be joined in the play-offs by Wales following Tuesday night’s results. Euro 2024 begins on June 14 and ends with the final in Berlin on July 14.

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